Evilution

Right now I'm in the middle of watching the documentary Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed hosted by Ben Stein that came out earlier this year. I've watched the first hour and my impression so far is that it seems a bit one sided. Until they mentioned Hitler.

My first reaction was, "Are you serious?"

First I have to mention that I am not a film critic and I know as much about science as the average 24 year old college student.

Mitochondria: The power house of the cell.

Anyways, the first half of the film talks about how Intelligent Design is pretty much laughed at by real scientist and if, as a scientist or teacher, you mention Intelligent Design not only could you lose your career but you could also be blacklisted. Harsh. So then the film continues as to how real scientists that promote evolution go on the attack on Intelligent Design because they have some ulterior motive to sneak God back into schools.

"Okay, that's kind of pushing it but moving on..."

And then out of the blue David Berlinski, a leading critic of evolution within the intelligent design movement, raises the claim that Darwinism influenced the Nazis.

And that's when I had to stop watching (i'll finish it in a moment) and start blogging. At first the film sounded a bit one-sided, then it moved to a hint of propaganda, and then it took a swan dive into a festering pool of conspiracy theories.

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My personal views on Intelligent Design? I see no reason why Intelligent Design can't at least be given a chapter alongside all the other scientific theories in a high school science book. I see nothing devious by just mentioning that some people believe that a Designer out there may have had a hand in designing this incredibly complex Universe we call home. I also believe that if there is a significant amount of evidence that supports a certain theory then I see no reason why that theory can't be taught. I believe evolution can work hand in hand with a First Cause God. So yes I have no problem with Evolution. Evolution DOES NOT lead to the Holocaust. Here's an example as to what the film is implying.

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Darwin-->Theory of Evolution--->God does not exist-->Religions are fairy tales with moral teachings--->No need to be moral--> Heil Hitler!

Talk about a serious case of Six degrees of Adolf Hitler.

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Now, Ben Stein does say that Darwinism does not equate with Nazism. But he then goes on to say "If Darwinism could inspire such horrific events in the past, could it be used to rationalize similar initiatives today?"

Darwin--> Theory of Evolution--->God does not exist-->Religions are fairy tales with moral teachings--->No need for moral--> Heil Hitler!-->Abortion, euthanasia, etc.

There's a whole list of controversies you can read up on about this film, but there was one particular highlight that I did enjoy. They showed a short clip from this 3d animation made for Harvard's Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology.

The Inner Life of the Cell

"I read the news today oh boy"

I don't remember the actual date but I do remember the first Beatles song I heard that made me into an instant fan. It was Hello, Goodbye off of their Magical Mystery Tour album. I think I was 7 or 8 years old when I heard it and I instantly fell in love with their sound. At the time I was too young and preoccupied to even care who the Beatles were but I can instantly recognize their sound when I listened to the radio after school. I didn't know they had broken up and that John was killed before I was born. I didn't even know about all the scandals and drama that surrounded them and even if I knew I wouldn't care. I was an 8 year old who just happened to be a Beatles fan. But not everyone fell in love with the Beatles as easily as I did nor had they forgiven them.

[Excerpts taken from CNN]

When John Lennon remarked in 1966 that the Beatles were then "more popular than Jesus" his comments prompted outrage in the United States. But this weekend the Vatican's newspaper paid tribute to the band on the 40th anniversary of the release of the "White Album" in an article interpreted by some as a papal pardon for Lennon.

So after 40 years of pain and suffering the Vatican decided that it was time to turn the other cheek and forgive these young boys for their reckless comment.


Steve Turner, author of "The Gospel According To The Beatles"

It's very hard to say what John Lennon would say now if he knew that the pope had forgiven him or the Catholic Church had forgiven him because on the one hand he wrote to an American evangelist called Oral Roberts and said he had been very sorry. But in a book he said he was very glad that it had happened because it effectively ended the Beatles. Because that tour was so bad that it became the last tour the Beatles ever did. So he thought, "Thank you Jesus for causing this to happen -- because you gave me a solo career."

So was John wrong about his comment? I wasn't around for "Beatlemania" but from what I do know it was pretty crazy. I don't recall the last time I saw Christians storming into churches feverishly worshiping the Lord like the teenage girls that were throwing themselves at these new rock gods. So, in a sense he was right, they were more popular than Jesus at that very place and time, but he wasn't saying (I think) that they intended on replacing Jesus Christ but that more people (at least young people) were buying their records instead of attending church. At least now John can rest in peace knowing that he's been forgiven by God's number 1 man on Earth.

R.I.P. John

Our Father...

I just finished watching an episode of Moral Orel On Demand and I felt compelled to comment on the episode. First, a little background on the show for those that haven't seen it.

[Excerpts taken from Wikipedia]

Moral Orel is an American stop-motion animated television show currently airing on Adult Swim. The show is rated TV-MA due to its strong sexual references and dark, satirical humor. It has been described as "Davey and Goliath...meets South Park". Despite advertising for the show, which portrays it as being in the vein of the Davey and Goliath cartoons that it is stylistically similar to, Dino Stamatopoulos, the creator, has stated that it is less a direct parody of that, and more a parody of 1950s and 1960s style sitcoms. The main character is Orel,...who constantly tries to live by the show's description of the Protestant Christian moral code. It seems, however, that most of the citizens of Moralton do not live the way a staunch Protestant is supposed to. Instead of loving their neighbor, they mock homosexuals, teach their children to close their minds to anything non-Christian, disavow rational scientific explanations of the universe's origins as fiction and heresy, distance themselves from nature, dehumanize non-Christian faiths, and mock the Catholic Church. Most episodes of the first season had a similar formula: Orel would hear a sermon in church on Sunday, then proceed to have some sort of misadventure based around his (often misguided) attempts to live by that lesson.

This description of the show is spot on. It contains a lot of dark humor and is not to be watched by anyone who can not stomach religious humor. You've been warned.

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So how do we say the Lord's Prayer? Do you use debts or trespasses? Does it matter? Would God even listen to another second of your prayer if you use the wrong word?

Even though the show is exaggerating a tiny word difference in the Lord's Prayer (click here for a line by line breakdown and history of the Lord's Prayer) that causes strife between two neighbors it's actually not far off from the theological differences between Christian denominations.

Should infants be baptized? How do we baptize them: by aspersion, affusion, immersion, or submersion? What day should Christian worship on? Can we pray to saints? Is salvation attained by Faith, Works, or both? What about the Rapture? What about Hell: do people burn in Hell forever or are they annihilated? The list of theological differences go on and on and on.

But the only characters in the episode that were willing to swallow their differences were the kids: Christina and Orel. Although the adults learn to "repress" (instead of confess) their sins so that they can continue sinning without feeling guilty ("guilt is for Catholics") the kids were the only ones that looked past the differing theology not as sin but as just differences. The two eerily similar families could have coexisted peacefully as neighbor and friends only if they hadn't let their variations on the Lord's Prayer get between them.

[Taken from Wikipedia]

Although many theological differences and various modes and manners of worship divide Christians, according to Fuller Seminary professor Clayton Schmit "there is a sense of solidarity in knowing that Christians around the globe are praying together…, and these words always unite us."

As dark and twisted as this show is the producers made an incredible point on how some varying Christian denominations see and deal with each other.

ABC show on a "Modern Day Prophet" Canceled...

Bad news came last week for all Eli Stone fans out there when ABC officials told the producers they're not planning to pick up any more episodes. Canceled.

For those of you that haven't seen Eli Stone you missed the boat. There's no point in watching now unless you want to be let down in a few months when they air their last episode.

[Excerpt taken from Wikipedia]

A...drama set in a law firm where a thirty-something attorney, whose name is the title of the show, begins having larger-than-life visions that compel him to do out-of-the-ordinary things. Eli suffers from an inoperable brain aneurysm that causes him to have realistic hallucinations which often relate to the plot of that episode, and he may in fact be a modern day prophet.

It's a very cute and interesting show. Of course it has the usual drama any prime time show has but it keeps the sex and profanity to a minimum and actually brought themes of justice, compassion, and love mixed with a sense of a true American pop religion. Eli consults an acupuncturist, Dr. Chen, to help him decipher his prophetic visions which relates to a case directed to by "a higher power". His vision sometimes predicts the future and saves lives as in the case when he kept seeing visions of a devastating earthquake that takes out the Golden Gate Bridge (did I mention this takes place in San Fransisco).

And now it's canceled. I sent an email to ABC letting them know that after Lost ends in 2010 I'm entering into a lifelong boycott of their network. I know that sounds a little extreme since before Lost I never watched ABC in the first place. So I guess I'll continue not watching ABC after 2010.

A Blogger's Faith

I am, or at least have become, a Blogger. I am still new at it and I admit I'm not the best writer but I love it. It is a creative outlet in part, a way to let out any thoughts that may be wandering in my head that need a place to rest. I chose Religion (in general) to blog about because it is such a vast, interesting, and controversial topic to write about. I don't try to force my beliefs (either on this blog or in the real world) on anyone anymore because it seems to contradict the whole spirit of faith in the first place. You can't force faith on anyone, nor can God. Now there may be believers (in "insert name of Faith Here") that may wish to force there beliefs on other people but even then how can one know they are believing out of their own free will or out of fear be it intimidation, peer pressure, or on pain of death?

Does God say then,"That was great work you did back there making that sinner feel guilty so that they will turn back to worshiping Me." I can't imagine a God so consumed with collecting as many worshipers as possible that He would result to violence to strong arm people into obedience. Even then some Holy Books warn of punishments for those that choose not to worship the Almighty. What then? Do we blindly follow those commands and force Humanity to bow or do we let our lives be an example of how religion has changed us for the better (Warning: Your Religious Experience may Vary)?

I have gone off on too many tangents. My original focus was on Blogging, but that is the beauty of blogging. I can go off on as many tangents as I please without making any sense. This is not for others but for me. I guess you can say it's a bit therapeutic getting this all out in my own private environment. Others are welcome to read, comment, and debate but this is still my own pulpit. I can go on and on about a certain topic or I could just post a solitary link without comment.

But I do this primarily because it is so difficult to talk about Religion to just about anyone. Most people have there set beliefs and the minute you state that you believe otherwise or follow different creeds immense walls shoot up, alarms go off, and warning signs flash up in your head.

Warning! Warning! Their Religious Experience varies from yours! Abort! Abort! Abort Conversation! Take all precautions, enemy combatants are in range. Raise Shields! Bring weapons Online!

That's why recently I've become careful with what I say when it comes to the topic of Religion AND especially in the South. You never know who you're going to offend unless you are part of the majority. And I'm not. I'm far from it.

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But in closing I think it's only far to share what I do believe.

• First and foremost I can at the very least consider myself a Monotheist. I believe in one God. I don't say there IS a God as if it's scientific fact but that I believe there is a God.
• I was raised Christian my entire life so my Religious experience is similar to most people here in the Southeast. But that's where the similarities end.
• I was raised a 7th Day Adventist. I am not a practicing Adventist anymore but, on a subconscious level, still slightly think and consider myself an Adventist. I do not follow any of the creeds but I tend to sometimes think like an Adventist on certain occasions (for example: I sometimes catch myself thinking "Is this sinful?" when I bite into a delicious ham sandwich.)
• I am very open minded when it comes to listening or studying other faiths. I especially find it interesting when I find close similarities between faiths I thought (at one point) had absolutely nothing in common (i.e. Christians and Muslims are both awaiting for Jesus Christ to Return to Earth to reign and to destroy the Antichrist). This is where I start to get hateful glares from some Christians because they equate Islam with the Devil.
• And this leads into my final point since I could go on for awhile on what I do or do not believe. I can not believe that only one Religion has all the answers or is the only way to commune with God. I can not say to a Hindi, "You can not be praying to the God Almighty because you worship idols." Or to a Muslim, " You are not saved because you do not believe that Jesus Christ is God Incarnate". What I am saying is that I CAN NOT judge a fellow worshiper (or non-worshiper) of God and tell them that they are wrong. I am not God, I do not claim to know God's mind, and so therefore I can not pass judgment on others spirituality or lack thereof.

I want to not only understand the different creeds and rituals of different Religions but I want to dig past them. This open-minded view I have allows me to better understand my fellow Man, and by better understanding I can increase my love towards my fellow Man.

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Mark 12:28-34

28One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

29"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'31The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'There is no commandment greater than these."

32"Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

34When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.